1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system for manufacturing a cable bead which is an annular core with a wire helically (spirally) wound therearound. The cable bead is embedded in the bead portion of a tire.
2. Description of the Related Art
A cable bead, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, is a ring-shaped (annular) core 61 with a wire 62, whose diameter is smaller than that of the core 61, helically (spirally) wound therearound. The wire 62 is wound around the annular core 61 by repeating the action of passing the wire 62 from the outside through the inside of the ring of the core 61 and then pulling the wire 62 to the outside of the core 61 as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-68662, for instance.
In another method for winding a wire around the annular core, a reel is moved in swing motions in planes parallel to the annular core while the annular core is rotated in a circumferential direction. At one end of the swing motion, the reel is traversed inside the ring of the annular core, and at the other end of the swing motion, the reel is traversed outside the ring of the annular core. Thus, by repeating these motions, the wire is wound around the annular core as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-168612, for instance. This method is believed to accomplish the manufacture of a cable bead with excellent winding of the wire in swift operation.
In another method, as proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-47169, an end of a wire is temporarily secured to an annular core by a chucking mechanism, and the wire is wound helically around the annular core, with the reel revolving through the inside and the outside the annular core as the core is rotated in a circumferential direction. In this method, before the end of the wire temporarily secured to the annular core intersects with the revolving position of the reel, the chucking mechanism is separated from the annular core. Hence, interference between the chucking mechanism and the reel is prevented from occurring, and the revolution of the reel continues. This method allows easy alternation of S winding and Z winding in multiple layers. And it accomplishes the manufacture of high-quality cable beads without such problems as tangling and twisting of the wire.
As is well known in the art, the annular core and the reel normally come in a set. Therefore, the manufacture of a cable bead may be carried out with great efficiency if a plurality of core and reel combinations are prepared in advance and supplied to the machine sequentially.
Yet, according to the above-cited three patent documents, the annular core and the reel are prepared separately, and, moreover, the setting of the annular core, the unloading of the cable bead, and the replacement of reels are all done manually.
Also, the machine disclosed in the second and third patent documents above have a structure such that it is not easy to carry out the replacement of the annular core and the reel which are to be supplied to the machine, and the exchanging of the reels.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a method and a system for manufacturing high-quality cable beads with efficiency, which feature easy replacement of annular cores and reels supplied to the system.